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Champagne Velvet
Upland Brewing Company
- From:
- Upland Brewing Company
- Indiana, United States
- Style:
- American Adjunct Lager
Ranked #26 - ABV:
- 5.5%
- Score:
- 80
Ranked #26,029 - Avg:
- 3.53 | pDev: 13.88%
- Reviews:
- 73
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Mar 03, 2024
- Added:
- May 12, 2013
- Wants:
- 13
- Gots:
- 53
In 1902, Walter Bruhn, the son of German immigrants, created a recipe for a new pilsener beer named Champagne Velvet. Over the next 50 years it grew to become one of Indiana’s most popular beers, a go-to for many of our grandparents and great-grandparents. It was “The Beer with the Million Dollar Flavor,” which wasn’t just marketing fluff; it was actually insured with a $1 million policy.
Industrial consolidation took down this regional favorite and the recipe went missing for many years until a fan rescued the hand-written recipe from deep in a trademark portfolio. Upland reformulated the recipe using that scrap of paper and proudly brings this Midwestern legend back to life. Champagne Velvet has a refreshingly light pilsener body with some sweet complexities given off by the corn malt used in this recipe, making this the perfect lager. It’s smooth and light, but still full of flavor, the perfect everyday beer for craft beer drinkers and a step up for domestic drinkers.
29 IBU
Industrial consolidation took down this regional favorite and the recipe went missing for many years until a fan rescued the hand-written recipe from deep in a trademark portfolio. Upland reformulated the recipe using that scrap of paper and proudly brings this Midwestern legend back to life. Champagne Velvet has a refreshingly light pilsener body with some sweet complexities given off by the corn malt used in this recipe, making this the perfect lager. It’s smooth and light, but still full of flavor, the perfect everyday beer for craft beer drinkers and a step up for domestic drinkers.
29 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Cylinsier:
Reviewed by Cylinsier from Pennsylvania
3.68/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.68/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
12 oz.
Pours a very light gold, ever so slightly hazy, with a white sudsy lacing.
Smells of light barley malt with a bit of cane sugar sweetness.
Flavor is of crisp barley malt and light sugar sweetness with a slight dry hop bite.
Tingly carbonation on the roof of the mouth.
A very smooth easy-drinking lager with a nice flavor, very sessionable, and in my mind somewhat underrated for what it is. Definitely worth trying.
Feb 20, 2014Pours a very light gold, ever so slightly hazy, with a white sudsy lacing.
Smells of light barley malt with a bit of cane sugar sweetness.
Flavor is of crisp barley malt and light sugar sweetness with a slight dry hop bite.
Tingly carbonation on the roof of the mouth.
A very smooth easy-drinking lager with a nice flavor, very sessionable, and in my mind somewhat underrated for what it is. Definitely worth trying.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by FretFingers from Illinois
3.8/5 rDev +7.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.8/5 rDev +7.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from 12 oz can into a dimpled mug. Very pale yellow with a large frothy head that disipates to a thin foam with some lacing. Slightly phenolic aroma - hints of corn and vanilla. Taste is semi -sweet but not cloying, mildly astringent with some off flavors that I cannot quite pinpoint. Very fine carbonation reminiscent of sparkling wines - maybe this is why "Champagne" is in the name. Overall a refreshing Lager which I can only describe as cross between a cream ale and a mildly bitter Pilsner.
Jan 18, 2024Rated by Arcman61 from Illinois
4.33/5 rDev +22.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
4.33/5 rDev +22.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
This is a great beer with classic flavor and taste way before the micro brew craze.
I highly recommend trying this one!!
Oct 28, 2023I highly recommend trying this one!!
Reviewed by seakayak from Massachusetts
3.5/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.5/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Champagne Velvet Lager, 5.5% - clear straw gold color with a frothy white cap of foam, solid lager aroma and taste with mild corn, grains, and hops. Better than most! Cheers!
Mar 10, 2023Reviewed by ZebulonXZogg from Illinois
3.24/5 rDev -8.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.24/5 rDev -8.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Pours a pissy looking very pale yellow, nice white head fades quickly, no lacing to speak of. Aroma says grains'n grass. It tastes like the beer my Dad drank while I was bouncing around on his knee back in the day. This goes down so easy, probably the perfect camping, fishing yardwork beer.
Feb 08, 2023Reviewed by mothman from Minnesota
4.25/5 rDev +20.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev +20.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Can. White head. Clear straw yellow gold.
Crisp, clean, hoppy, bready, biscuity. Zesty hops, grassy. Not sure how this scores a 3.5. This is a solid crispy boi and cheap. Such a crusher.
Nov 12, 2022Crisp, clean, hoppy, bready, biscuity. Zesty hops, grassy. Not sure how this scores a 3.5. This is a solid crispy boi and cheap. Such a crusher.
Reviewed by mfnmbvp from Illinois
3.93/5 rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
3.93/5 rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
12 oz. can, some sort of canning information printed. Another new one to me from Upland Brewing, super awesome that they revived a 100+ year old recipe, previously brewed by the Terre Haute Brewing Co.
Poured to Camp Crystal Lake stemless snifter.
Pours pale straw yellow, exceptional clarity, looks crisp. One finger of white frothy head comprised of tightly packed bubbles. Appears aptly carbonated. Looks very nice, and if reviewed per the style, looks excellent.
Aroma is crisp, clean, grainy. Notes of wheat, hints of piney hops, maybe a hint of fusel alcohol.
Wonderful flavor - perfectly balanced grain bill with subtle hop earthiness / bitterness. Notes of fruit linger in the background.
Feel is exceptionally smooth, crisp, clean, light-bodied, & easy drinking.
Highly impressed by this one. Recommended.
Upland Brewing Champagne Velvet -----4/5.
Oct 06, 2022Poured to Camp Crystal Lake stemless snifter.
Pours pale straw yellow, exceptional clarity, looks crisp. One finger of white frothy head comprised of tightly packed bubbles. Appears aptly carbonated. Looks very nice, and if reviewed per the style, looks excellent.
Aroma is crisp, clean, grainy. Notes of wheat, hints of piney hops, maybe a hint of fusel alcohol.
Wonderful flavor - perfectly balanced grain bill with subtle hop earthiness / bitterness. Notes of fruit linger in the background.
Feel is exceptionally smooth, crisp, clean, light-bodied, & easy drinking.
Highly impressed by this one. Recommended.
Upland Brewing Champagne Velvet -----4/5.
Reviewed by Mitchster from Michigan
3.26/5 rDev -7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.26/5 rDev -7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
$2.99 for a 1 pint can. Pours out to a clear deep golden, forming a small white head with poor retention, sparse lacing. Medium carbonation. The nose is rather flimsy....sweet grass, malt, corn, slightly floral hops. The taste is not too bad...like it says, a pre-prohibition lager. A bit more body, fairly firm bitterness, actual hop flavor and malt flavor much more than than your typical bud/miller/coors seltzer water, but not a German or Czech pils either because I'm getting that sweet grassy character of corn or sometimes I'll find this in cheap Baltic Eurolagers. Dry finish. Too be honest, it's too bitter for my tastes to make this a crushable beer for a hot summer day at the beach with burgers. Champagne? Nah. Velvet? Nah. This is an in between beer that really doesn't fit a niche for me. I'd rather have an ice cold coors light or a real pils or an easy IPA.
Jul 21, 2022Reviewed by jjamadorphd from Florida
3.94/5 rDev +11.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.94/5 rDev +11.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Maybe not the best lager of all time (or whatever the claim was on the can) but it was pretty good...
Decent coloration, great scent, and a very clean mouthfeel is what I takeaway from this lager. Great addition to your summertime roster.
Jun 27, 2022Decent coloration, great scent, and a very clean mouthfeel is what I takeaway from this lager. Great addition to your summertime roster.
Champagne Velvet from Upland Brewing Company
Beer rating:
80 out of
100 with
314 ratings
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